Running with dogs website

[runwithdogs]

Hi

I'm a veterinarian and my husband is an accredited athletics coach. We've devised a running program for dogs to train them (and their owners) to go from nothing to running 5km over 12 weeks. It only takes three half hour sessions a week, and it's gentle enough for most people to follow.

We've seen some great results from the program both for the dogs and their owners. Dogs are more toned, have more energy and enjoy longer walks, and their owners lose weight and dress sizes.

Any and all constructive feedback very welcome.

5K running with dog

 

[AllieMackie]

Constructive feedback:

If you want me to sign up for something that is available widely for free, I start to wonder.

Seems another get-rich-quick affiliate marketing deal. That said, if it gets people into C25K, I guess that's good. Finn and I have been working on C25K for awhile now (bad hip slows me down but we're still trying).

 

[runwithdogs]

If you were to have a closer look, this program is also free. It's cost us nothing but our time to put it together, so it's not costing anybody else anything to use it. Sure, there is a newsletter signup, but you know, it's purely information. Managing heat stroke, how to safely increase your dog's distance beyond 5km, etc etc. The sort of info that people who run with their dogs would like to know about.

It's based on couch to 5k but has been modified a little to make it easier for dogs, the couch to 5k is a 9 week program and in week 5 it has quite an incremental jump in the running duration. This program has been extended to make that jump a whole lot smaller and easier.

We're not making a penny from this, there are a couple of affiliate products in the sidebar which may help with the cost of hosting and bandwidth. Frankly, I'm tired of treating overweight dogs for totally preventable medical conditions. Sick of prescribing pain relieving drugs for joints that are worn out carrying excess weight. If we can get others out exercising more with their dogs, maybe we won't be seeing dog obesity rates hitting 60% in some areas.

Appreciate you taking the time to post your feedback, and good on you for getting out running with Finn.

Cheers

 

[AllieMackie]

If you were to have a closer look, this program is also free. It's cost us nothing but our time to put it together, so it's not costing anybody else anything to use it. Sure, there is a newsletter signup, but you know, it's purely information. Managing heat stroke, how to safely increase your dog's distance beyond 5km, etc etc. The sort of info that people who run with their dogs would like to know about.

It's based on couch to 5k but has been modified a little to make it easier for dogs, the couch to 5k is a 9 week program and in week 5 it has quite an incremental jump in the running duration. This program has been extended to make that jump a whole lot smaller and easier.

We're not making a penny from this, there are a couple of affiliate products in the sidebar which may help with the cost of hosting and bandwidth. Frankly, I'm tired of treating overweight dogs for totally preventable medical conditions. Sick of prescribing pain relieving drugs for joints that are worn out carrying excess weight. If we can get others out exercising more with their dogs, maybe we won't be seeing dog obesity rates hitting 60% in some areas.

Appreciate you taking the time to post your feedback, and good on you for getting out running with Finn.

Cheers

Sounds okay. I wish you the best of luck!

 

[Dekka]

Sounds good. I like the running room's program a bit better than couch to 5K.. but its great to have a doggie resource.

My dogs are my running partners, so far I don't go farther than 7k.

 

[Beanie]

I wouldn't sign up for a newsletter. Why not just post the information right on the website?

 

[runwithdogs]

I wouldn't sign up for a newsletter. Why not just post the information right on the website?

Fair enough comment, but there's a good reason for it. I have contacts who are veterinary nutritionists, behaviour specialists, orthopedic specialists, canine physical therapists, and I'm planning on doing podcasts interviewing them about canine athletes.

By building a mailing list of people who are interested enough in dog fitness to actually sign up and download the program, I can then send them links to the free podcasts when they're done, as well as the other resources I have in mind to create. It just means I can get the information out to more people without having to try and get them back to the site once they've left.

I know there are a lot of scams out there, and I don't blame you for being suspicious. I hate being sold at. There's no secret charges or anything. I'm not making any money from this, it's just my passion. It's actually cost me a fair bit in design/hosting etc so I'm in the red, but that's ok.

If you don't want to receive any mailings, but want to have a look at the programs, feel free to unsubscribe after you've downloaded them. We've made the unsubscribe link easy to find for everyone.

 

[Beanie]

But the best thing to do is to find a way to actually drive people to your website - not just build up a mailing list. A mailing list isn't going to be a great resource. Podcasts about canine athletes sounds GREAT - but I don't want to get an e-mail that has the link to the podcast and the only link is in the e-mail. Wouldn't it be better to create a section on your website that would then list all your podcasts? That way EVERY visitor to your website will have access to all of the information available instantly. They can also pick and choose the information they want, information that pertains specifically to their wants and needs, rather than being bombarded with ALL of the information to their e-mail box and having to wade through it.

I will tell you that a lot of people simply will not sign up for newsletters because they hate spam, and privacy policies do little to make them think they won't still end up being spammed. They also are going to ask the same question: "If it's free, why isn't it right here? Why do I have to sign up to get it?" They will then assume it's NOT free and not sign up. Most people do not sign up just to see if it really is free or if they are going to get an e-mail telling them if they send you $30 you'll send them a PDF will all of the information... they simply move on.

I like the idea of your website, but by limiting everything to only being available through a newsletter, you are limiting the number of people who will actually sign up and get access to it. If your goal is to increase availability to the general public of information about canine fitness and health, that's exactly the way NOT to do it.

 

[Dekka]

There is a horse website that is similar (only more areas) with podcasts etc. It also expects you to sign up. But its so established and reputable (as well as having a long time physical magazine) that I don't think they have problems.

Why is a mailing list a good idea? Wouldn't you rather have unique hits? I mean you will get more hits if its just there to be looked at.

 

[runwithdogs]

Beanie, you've obviously put a lot of consideration into this, and I appreciate your insights and the time you've put into your reply. So you're saying you'd prefer not to be notified by email when something new and interesting and relevant to dog health was available on the site for free, you'd rather find it when you got around to revisiting the site?

I'll certainly take your thoughts on board Thanks again for sharing them.

 

[runwithdogs]

Dekka, we've not had any concerns or complaints from the several hundred subscribers to our newsletter over the last month or two. We've also had nobody unsubscribe.

A mailing list is purely a means of disseminating useful and free information to people who have expressed interest in the topic. It's used by many websites, as well as many offline establishments - have you got a department store loyalty card or similar?

Unfortunately there is a perception that a lot of things online are, as Allie said, a get rich quick affiliate marketing scheme. The resulting lack of trust affects everyone in some way.

There are pro's and con's to creating a mailing list and ultimately they all have to be weighed up to make the right choice for any particular website.

 

[Dekka]

Well of course you won't Those who think that is a bad idea won't subscribe in the first place. How many hits do you get vs how many sign up?

But you never did say why a mailing list is a good idea... honestly curious as I just put info on my website and figure its there for who ever wants it, vs hoping they sign up.

 

[eddieq]

May I suggest a compromise? Feel free to use this forum on the chazhound board to post your important updates. Even updating this thread. It can be a copy/paste with the information or even a link back to your site so you can get more traffic. That's really what the "Dog Sites and Pet Sites" forum is for.

 

[Beanie]

Oh, not a lot of consideration, LOL - I've just spent years working in media and advertising in one way or another, so it's stuff I've learned. Websites serve a specific purpose, mailing lists serve another purpose... they have their ups and downs, pros and cons. And like I said, I like the idea of your website, so if you're willing to listen to constructive criticism, I will absolutely give you my feedback.


It seemed like you were talking about having your mailing list be the actual delivery of your content rather than simply a "here's what's new" mail, since I asked why the content isn't freely available on the website and is only available once I've signed up to the newsletter. You could do an e-mail that says "This month we have these articles and these podcasts and this and that," but no, I'm personally not likely to subscribe to that, or to actually look at the website at the same time I get the e-mail. I check my e-mail a lot when I have just a few minutes, and if there are podcasts and articles, I need to be visiting the website when I have time to actually devote to that. So yeah, I prefer to visit websites on my own time when I get to it rather than sign up for e-mails that are going to essentially bug me to visit the website when I don't actually have the to time to do it. It's likely to just get deleted and I'll get to the website when I get to it anyway.

If you update regularly, that is going to help drive traffic to your website on it's own. If people know that every week you post a new podcast or a new series of articles or whatever, they will get in the habit of checking once a week/every other week/whatever. You won't really need e-mail updates at that point.

But my main objection is the idea of the actual content not being available on the website itself and having people need to jump through hoops to get access to it. You can basically assume your internet audience is lazy or has a short attention span. Make it easy for them to get the content and they will use it; make it difficult to get the content, and you significantly decrease the number of people who will actually go through the process to get it.

 

[runwithdogs]

Dekka, my plan for building a mailing list is to create a list of people who I may be able to ask for feedback, so I can keep adding the sort of content people are after. I also see it as a way of getting the most out of my efforts to drive traffic to the site. Purely selfish maybe, but some of the things I have planned for the site will cost me $, and I want to be able to let as many people as possible know about them when they're available. When I'm paying for hosting space and bandwidth to provide videos and audios, I want to make sure my money is well spent. I figure if someone is keen enough to sign up to a newsletter, then they're interested, and I don't mind wearing the cost of them downloading media.

I'm sure that most people who download the program don't actually use it, and that's up to them. However, if they're not interested enough in their dog's health to want to read an email newsletter, then I'm not sure they're interested enough in the program to take advantage of running information in a video, so I don't want to pay for that bandwidth.

Beanie, you and I are different. I would love an email update from a favorite site to let me know when something is new. So, everybody's preferences differ. Our emails aren't just "there's something new on the site". We include product reviews, training advice, discussions on health issues that affect canine athletes and their owners, so the email itself has value.

But, I'm certainly happy to take your point of view on board, and change the set up for a while just to see what happens. I've updated the site so the training programs are free to download, but there is still the encouragement to subscribe to the newsletter. I expect there will be more downloads of the program, but it'll be interesting to see if the number of subscribers per day drops off.

 

[Dekka]

I am with Beanie. With one exception (and I have their newsletter to automatically to go to junk) I dont' subscribe to websites.

Polls and feed back boxes are also great ways to get info back. (as an option) I guess it just depends on how badly you want traffic. You get less traffic with subscriptions, but you do get lots of user info. (which then you can get $$ for targeted advertising, which is why I always say no to newsletters)

 

[Bigpoodleperson]

Personally, I like it. I would be interested in doing it in the future. I currently go to a gym, but always feel so guilty leaving my dog. It will have to wait for a future dog though as my boy has a bad knee injury and will never be able to run like that again. I bookmarked the site though.

 

[hanslynch]

Love the running with dogs site. It looks good. Nice and clean look to it. Keep up the great work.

I do not entirely understand the argument against newsletters that are on the thread. A newsletter is a great way to regularly communicate with your target audience. It also prevents you content from being simply lifted from your site and put on someone else's.

 

[MafiaPrincess]

Can't say I'd sign up either. I like to browse. Even free I wouldn't sign up. Interviews with professionals worth somethign could be interesting, but to learn to run with your dog most people don't need a specific site. Hope it works for you.

 

[MyHorseMyRules]

I think you have a great idea. I'll be checking in and browsing from time to time, but I won't sign up for a newsletter. Podcasts would be fantastic, so I hope you make them available to all on your site.